#Kuyperania October 2018.

Two books, both originally PhDs have now been published.

    

Park, Jae-eun 2018. Driven by God: Active Justification and Definitive Sanctification in the Soteriology of Bavinck, Comrie, Witsius, and Kuyper. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Gmbh & Co.

Brant Himes 2018. For a Better Worldiness: Abraham Kuyper, Dietrich Bonhoffer and Discipleship for the Common Good. Eugene, OR: Pickwick

Vincent Bacote is interviewed by Gregory R. Perry here: http://thirdmill.org/podcasts/episode.asp/id/37. He discusses positive and negative views on Kuyper:

Now, Vince, I know that you have studied deeply and written about a famous Christian politician, Abraham Kuyper, a Reformed Christian theologian that served as the prime minister of the Netherlands at the beginning of the twentieth century. Does Kuyper offer us some guidance about how to engage politically with integrity as a Christian? I’m sure there are some positive and maybe some negative examples from his life.

Bacote: Yes. So, among the positive examples, actually, are the surprise to many that, though he was prime minister, Kuyper was not after some idea of a totalitarian Christian society. I think there are people who think that because he was prime minister it must have meant, “Oh, I get it. Christians taking over.” Or sometimes that word that winds up being really a slur to get people to think that you’re trying to take over the world: “Oh, a theocracy.” You can’t read him and ever think that that’s the case. So, what Kuyper was after was certainly the view that Christians uphold the ordinances of creation, that these things when put into practice led to a society that was the best for everyone, but there was nothing about coercing people who were different from him, excluding or coercing them into having the same beliefs. So, really, what he wanted to say was that Christians ought to be participating, participating distinctively in politics, but also being willing to work with other people. So, he never would have become, for example, prime minister if he’s not … He was a part of a Christian political party in the Netherlands at the time called the Anti-Revolutionary Party, which was anti-French Revolution. Well, he’s not going to become prime minister if he doesn’t make a coalition with the Catholic political party. And you’ve got to understand this was way before Vatican II, so it’s not like Catholics and Protestants were always going out to dinner or something. So, I think we have to keep in mind that he recognized that you have to make these coalitions to make things happen. It doesn’t mean that you agree about everything, but you perhaps agree about enough where you have enough common goals. And I think there has to be that kind of willingness to work with others when we’re thinking about accomplishing political ends or political goods.

Listening to their views.

Bacote: Yes.

Now, I know, as an African-American man — I’ve read Kuyper, I know that he has some views of race that are not in accord with Scripture — and yet you chose to study his life. You chose to stay engaged with his views, to listen to his views. Could you just share a little bit about that on a personal level?

Bacote: Yes, even his picture is framed and in my office, actually, which may really sound amazing. But he’s how I became a critical thinker because I had to deal with language of his that was clearly showing that he had nothing positive really to say about people of African descent. I had to ask myself, were the things that were attractive to me about his thought intimately tied to, intimately connected to the judgments that he’s making, the value judgments he’s making about people of African descent? My conclusion was then, and is now, that that’s not the case. In fact, I think those are reflective of the fact that he could not overcome what I like to call “the gravitational pull of his cultural assumptions.” He couldn’t live up to where his theological commitment should have taken him. Right? Because even in his theology, there’s this way he’s talking about how Calvinistic Reformation theology emphasizes all of us as a priesthood of believers and all people are made in the image of God, how this elevates people and how this, you know, means you can’t have slavery and a caste system and so forth.

So he’s inconsistent.

Bacote: Exactly. But he doesn’t live up to that when you see some of the value judgments that he makes. So, to me he’s just a great example of a person with clay feet, but a person who had a lot to say that I think is helpful about Christians engaging public life. For me, I think it was the gateway to saying, look, whatever figure you deal with who’s not Jesus, it’s only a matter of time before the day of reckoning happens and you have to deal with the failures of that person. And sometimes those failures will be things that you find really lamentable.

So it goes back to what Calvin said about human beings that were glorious ruins, right?

Bacote: Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.

If we know about ourselves and our own sinfulness, we can expect to find these things about our heroes.

Bacote: Exactly. Exactly. And so I think with any figure you’ve got to basically always be in an act of discernment and decide, alright, I can find these things helpful and these other things not so helpful, and I’m just willing to be truthful about those things. It’s hard for people to do that when they want to make people into heroes. We have to be careful about what it means to make people into heroes, and then we can admire them without making them heroic.

Acton Institute is hosting a unique, two-day international conference at Acton Institute’s headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI. Details here. This conference will draw upon the work of Dutch politician, educator, and theologian Abraham Kuyper to present possible solutions for rediscovering civic virtue and building a society in which all may flourish.

On the evening of November 5, the Acton Institute will confer the 2018 Novak Award and its $15,000 prize to the Brazilian academic Prof. Lucas G. Freire of the Center for Economic Freedom at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo. Prof. Freire will present the Calihan Lecture based on his doctoral research in this area.

The State of the Evangelical Mind - a review

The State of the Evangelical Mind
Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future
Edited by Todd C. Ream, Jerry A. Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers
Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic

ISBN: 978-0-8308-5216-1
Hbk; £21.99; 220pp.
Publisher's website: https://www.ivpress.com/the-state-of-the-evangelical-mind

This is a fascinating book. It is almost 25 years since the publication of Noll's seminal book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind where Noll echoed Harry Blamires opening salvo of his book The Christian Mind: ”There is no longer a Christian mind."

This book takes stock of that claim and examines how relevant is such an accusation today. The diverse authors take a look at churches, organisations, universities and seminaries, and conclude with prospects for the future. The editors posed the question: what is the future of the evangelical mind?

It is fitting that Noll should be one of the contributors. Noll looks at some key events that have occurred since the publication of Scandal.

C. Donald Smedley, in his chapter on parachurch organisations, take issue with Noll's thesis that Common Sense Realism has been at least in part responsible for the lack of a Christian mind. He prefers Morelands more individualistic and more apologetic approach to the Christian mind. He seems to maintain that those who work in a non-Christian college are more amenable to the role of apologetics and so draw upon the rationalism and common sense approach of Reid and co. However, utility does not determine the truth. I find his evaluation of Noll and Reid flawed. Unfortunately, Noll wasn't given an opportunity to respond. John Vander Stelt's analysis in Philosophy & Scripture shows how much deeper the philosophical implications are than Smedley seems to appreciate.

Timothy Larsen provides an apologetic for Christian Liberal Arts Colleges utilising the arguments propounded by the Catholic convert John Henry Newman. Larsen outlines five key points from Newman - all but perhaps one could be made by Reformed scholars. The five points are:

1. The inherent worth of obtaining substantial knowledge
2. Higher education is for the formation of a person not for a wage earner
3. The importance of the entire circle of knowledge
4. Students must not be sheltered from substantial knowledge even if it is unsettling or tainted by orthodoxy and sin
5. A college must include theology as a core discipline.

I'd take issue with point 5. I'd prefer to see a Christian worldview rather than theology as the core discipline.

Lauren Winner examines the role of seminaries. Here she a develops a point implicit in Newman on the role of the seminary. She makes an excellent point about the shortcomings of church ministerial training. She writes:

‘but when ten-in-the-morning Christians are considering naptime or blood pressure or the relative merits of acrylics and oils, are they considering those things christianly? has their pastor taught them how to do that?’

The problem is that the pastors aren't taught how to teach them that!

She goes on:

‘This is what seminaries and the pastors they train ought to be doing: interpreting everything “crossish” (ship’s mast, farmer’s plow, human posture, human noses), as participatory in the cross of Jesus, and thus filtering all suffering through Jesus’ suffering. Of course, the point extends beyond cruciform suffering. if we are teaching our seminary students to think christianly, then we are also teaching them to see every minor rebirth as a resurrection—that is, to see that every small rebirth participates in the resurrection of Jesus. and every turn heavenward, every prayer or gaze we send heavenward, participates in the ascension.’

That is exactly right - pastors need seminaries to teach them how to equip the saints for work of service; and works of service include more than institutional church activities, they include farming, business, education, science, sweeping the streets, housework and so on.

Smith is optimistic about the state of the evangelical mind in academia.  He is less so about the state of the mind in the proverbial pew. He sees a disconnect between the two. Due, in part, to the assimilation to the dominant forces of culture for many evangelicals. He is right that this gap must be closed. He calls for a democratisation of knowledge, a scholarship for the masses. Populariser must not be viewed with derision if this is to happen. He has a sobering thought:

'Before you get too enthusiastic about the future if the evangelical mind, remember that Tim Tebow's Shaken was chosen as the ECPA’s book of the year for 2016.'

Mark Galli, concludes with an analysis of three realities at play. Evangelical hyper-activism; social media, not only gobbling time but its ability to shrink the mind; and the fascination with pop-culture among evangelicals.

This book is more than a temperature-taking exercise, it offers some suggestions on how we might develop a Christian mind. It is well worth reading.

Contents
Foreword by Richard J. Mouw
Introduction: The State of the Evangelical Mind—Tales of Prosperity and Peril (Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers)
1. Reflections on the Past: Evangelical Intellectual Life (Mark A. Noll)
2. Churches: The State of the Evangelical Church (Jo Anne Lyon)
3. Parachurch Organizations: University Ministry and the Evangelical Mind (David C. Mahan and C. Donald Smedley)
4. Colleges and Universities: John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University and Christian Colleges in the Twenty-First Century (Timothy Larsen)
5. Seminaries: Contemplative Posture and Christ-Adapted Eyes—Teaching and Thinking in Christian Seminaries (Lauren Winner)
6. Prospects for the Future: The Future Is Catholic—The Next Scandal for the Evangelical Mind (James K. A. Smith)
Conclusion: The Ongoing Challenge of the Evangelical Mind (Mark Galli)
Contributors
Index

Declaration on Sport and the Christian Life

From https://sportandchristianity.com/declaration/ for the declaration in full

These are the key points:

1. Sport has a legitimate place in the Christian life.

2. Sport touches all dimensions of human life.

3. Sport can be a means of spiritual formation.

4. Sport can glorify God.

5. Competition is an essential element of sport.

6. The true value of sport is inherent in the experience itself.

7. Sport has many benefits but they are conditional.

8. God created our bodies for His service and our enjoyment.

9. We do not control whether God favors one player or team over another.

10. Christian virtues are revealed in behaviors that go beyond obeying the rules.

11. Sport programs are a vital component of Christian education.

12. Sport is powerful.

For further resources on a Christian approach to sport

The General Theory of Not Dancing

After the general theory of non-gardening we have:

From Lisa 1999.  Philosophers on Holiday 2(3):4.

The General Theory of Not-Gardening by Leszek Kolakowski

The General Theory of Not-Gardening
A Major Contribution to Social Anthropology, Ontology, Moral Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Political Theory, and Many Other Fields of Scientific Investigation

Leszek Kolakowski

From Ch 21 of Modernity on Endless Trial

Those who hate gardening need a theory. Not to garden without a theory is a shallow, unworthy way of life.

A theory must be convincing and scientific. Yet to various people, various theories are convincing and scientific. Therefore we need a number of theories.

The alternative to not-gardening without a theory is to garden. However, it is much easier to have a theory than actually to garden.

Marxist Theory

Capitalists try to corrupt the minds of the toiling masses and to poison them with their reactionary “values.” They want to “convince” workers that gardening is a great “pleasure” and thereby to keep them busy in their leisure time and to prevent them from making the proletarian revolution. Besides, they want to make them believe that with their miserable plot of land they are really “owners” and not wage-earners, and so to win them over to the side of the owners in the class struggle. To garden is therefore to participate in the great plot aiming at the ideological deception of the masses. Do not garden! Q.E.D.

Psychoanalytical Theory

Fondness for gardening is a typically English quality. It is easy to see why this is so. England was the first country of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution killed the natural environment. Nature is the symbol of Mother. By killing Nature, the English people committed matricide. They are subconsciously haunted by the feeling of guilt and they try to expatiate their crime by cultivating and worshipping their small, pseudo¬natural gardens. To garden is to take part in this gigantic self-deception which perpetuates the childish myth. You must not garden. Q.E.D.

Existentialist Theory

People garden in order to make nature human, to “civilize” it. This, however, is a desperate and futile attempt to transform being-in-itself into being-for-itself. This is not only ontologically impossible; it is a deceptive, morally inadmissible escape from reality, as the distinction between being-in-itself and being-for-itself cannot be abolished. To garden, or to imagine that one can “humanize” Nature, is to try to efface this distinction and hopelessly to deny one’s own irreducibly human ontological status. To garden is to live in bad faith. Gardening is wrong. Q.E.D.

Structuralist Theory

In primitive societies life was divided into the pair of opposites work/leisure, which corresponded to the distinction field/house. People worked in the field and rested at home. In modern societies the axis of opposition has been reversed: people work in houses (factories, offices) and rest in the open (gardens, parks, forests, rivers, etc.). This distinction is crucial in maintaining the conceptual framework whereby people structure their lives. To garden is to confuse the distinction between house and field, between leisure and work; it is to blur, indeed to destroy, the oppositional structure which is the condition of thinking. Gardening is a blunder. Q.E.D.

Analytical Philosophy

In spite of many attempts, no satisfactory definition of garden and of gardening has been found; all existing definitions leave a large area of uncertainty about what belongs where. We simply do not know what exactly a garden and gardening are. To use these concepts is therefore intellectually irresponsible, and actually to garden would be even more so. Thou shalt not garden. Q.E.D.



[HT Richard Russell]

Someone else added:

Economic theory

Like any human process, gardening is a method to achieve some result — products if you will. The products of gardening are tangible and intangible. The tangible products of gardening are fruits and vegetables that can be eaten by the gardener. The intangible product of gardening is the “enjoyment” that some gardeners report by engaging in gardening itself.

In terms of tangible products we can show that gardening is an inefficient and wasteful process. The total cost of gardening starts with the direct costs such as seed, fertilizer, and tools. We add the opportunity cost of what might have been done with the land were it not a garden (the “highest and best use” of residential property). Lastly, we add the assumed labor cost of the gardener’s effort (which is by far the largest input). The sum of these direct and indirect costs show gardening to be a net capital loss activity. Indeed, it is more efficient for an individual gardener to buy all his produce from his neighborhood supermarket delivered from high-volume farms.

Knowing the direct and indirect costs of gardening, and the market value of the tangible products grown, we can deduce the value of the intangible “enjoyment” that gardeners report. We can show that, for the average gardener, the value of that enjoyment, when divided by labor hours invested in gardening, yields an extremely low “enjoyment per hour” quotient. Indeed, holding the dollar value constant, most gardeners could yield the same amount of enjoyment with FEWER hours (thereby having more hours available to generate other income) by attending movies. Or they could yield MORE enjoyment in the same amount of hours by doing virtually anything else.

Gardening is a irrational expenditure of resources, both capital and labor. QED

Common Grace, Natural Law, and the Social Order

Jordan Ballor and J. Daryl Charles on Kuyper's Common Grace - adapted from the Preface to volume 2.

The Christian understanding of the created order is fraught with danger. Christians must carefully avoid two opposite forms of error. On one extreme, there is the tendency to conflate the created with the Creator, which leads to a kind of paganized divinization of the world. On the other, there is the temptation to conclude that this world holds merely illusory value and therefore can essentially be ignored or abused. A proper approach to the created order, however, holds together the temporal and the eternal, properly relating and valuing them both. 

This is a challenge for all Christian traditions, but has been especially acute for Protestantism. The Reformed tradition, in particular, has often been accused of having (and, in some cases, has understood itself as having) a pervasively negative view of the fallen world, leading to a devaluation of God’s creation. A major theme of the Reformation and its inheritors, however, is the need to rightly discern the ways that God continues to work, in preservation as well as redemption, amid the realities of sin.

The Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper (1836-1920) engaged these challenges directly through his articulation of the doctrine of “common grace.” This doctrine is one of the most significant—and controversial—aspects of the great theologian’s legacy. A new multi-volume translation of his exhaustive treatment of the doctrine is intended to provide deeper insights into Kuyper’s understanding of this crucial, and oft-misunderstood, element of divine action. Kuyper’s work sheds light on the moral significance of common grace, especially for natural law, social order, and our contemporary challenges. ...

Politics, Church, and Kingdom: A Critique of Neocalvinist Politics by A.A. Van Ruler

translated by Ruben Alvarado

From the chapter “Church and State,” in Droom en Gestalte [Dream and Reality] (Amsterdam: Holland Uitgeversmaatschappij, 1947), pp. 189—214.

From Common Law Review

New version of Groen van Prinsterer's Unbelief and Revolution

Unbelief and Revolution
Full details here
Format: Print
$15.99
Overview
God’s word illumines the darkness of society.

Groen van Prinsterer’s Unbelief and Revolution is a foundational work addressing the inherent tension between religion and modernity. As a historian and politician, Groen was intimately familiar with the growing divide between secular culture and the church in his time. Rather than embrace this division, these lectures, originally published in 1847, argue for a renewed interaction between the two spheres. Groen’s work served as an inspiration for many contemporary theologians, and as a mentor to Abraham Kuyper, he had a profound impact on Kuyper’s famous public theology.

Harry Van Dyke, the original translator, reintroduces this vital contribution to our understanding of the relationship between religion and society.

Completed concept map of Basden's Dooyeweerd

I have over the last few days posted concept maps taken from my interpretation of Basden's discussion of Dooyeweerd's philosophy from Chapter 3 of his book Foundations of Information Science

To complete the posts here's a black and white version of all the maps put together - click on the image to enlarge it.

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (8 of 8)- things, types & relationships

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy - things, types & relationships

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (7 of 8) - modal aspects

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy - aspects

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (6 of 8) - ground-ideas, philosophies, sciences

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy- ground-ideas, philosophies, sciences

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (5 of 8) - theoretical thought

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy - theoretical thought

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (4 of 8) - subject-object & time

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy: subject-object & time

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (3 of 8) - challenges

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy - challenges

Kuyperania 2017 - Koers 83(1)

My review of books and articles on Kuyper published during 2017 is now online at the Koers website.

Bishop, S., 2018. Kuyperania 2017. KOERS — Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 83(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.83.1.2361

In it I look at the following:

Bartholomew, C.G. 2017. Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
De Brujine, A. 2017. Abraham Kuyper’s surprising love of the Jews. Journal of Reformed Theology, 11(1-2):24-46. 
De Jong, J.A. 2017. The heart and soul of Abraham Kuyper: reflections on his meditations. Calvin Theological Journal, 52(1): 37-61.
Douma,  J. 2017. Common Grace in Kuyper, Schilder, and Calvin: Exposition, Comparison, and Evaluation. Lucerna: CRTS Publications.
Eglinton, J. 2017.Varia Americana and race: Kuyper as antagonist and protagonist. Journal of Reformed Theology, 11(1-2): 65-80. 
Henderson, R. 2017a. The development of the principle of distributed authority, or sphere sovereignty. Philosophia Reformata, 82(1):74-79. 
Henderson, R. 2017b. Rumours of glory: Abraham Kuyper’s Neo-Calvinist theory of art, Pro Rege, 45(4):1- 9. Available at: http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege/vol45/iss4/1.
Jeom Ok Kin, Luther. 2017. A. Kuyper’s View of Sphere Sovereignty and the Korean Church: For its Preparation of the Post-Secular Society. Atlanta, GA: Covenant Innovation Pub.
Joustra, R. 2017. Abraham Kuyper among the nations. Politics and Religion, 1-23. 
Kennedy, S. 2017. Review of Pro Rege (volume 1) and Common Grace (volume 1) by Abraham Kuyper. International Journal of Public Theology 11(3): 365-367. 
Kuyper, A. 2017. On Islam: Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology. Translated by Jan van Vliet; edited by James D. Bratt with Douglas Howard. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Kuyper, A. 2017. Pro Rege: Living Under Christ the King: Volume 2. Translated by Albert J. Gootjes; edited by John Kok and Nelson D. Koosterman. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Liou, J. 2017. Taking up #blacklivesmatter: A neo-Kuyperian engagement with Critical Race Theory. Journal of Reformed Theology, 11(1-2): 99-120. 
Mouw, R.J. 2017. Of pagan festivals and meta-narratives: Recovering the awareness of our shared humanness. Scottish Journal of Theology, 70(3): 251-263.
Pass, B.R. 2017. A shy hope in the heart? Religious journalism in Australia and the Kuyperian legacy. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 3(1): 327–342.
Van der Velde, A. 2017. Johanna and Henriette Kuyper: Daring to Change their World. Philipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
Van der Jagt, H. 2017. Coffee-colored Calvinists: Neo-Calvinist perspectives on race in the Dutch Colonial Empire. Journal of Reformed Theology, 11(1-2):47-64. 
Van Vliet, J. 2017. Islam according to journalist Abraham Kuyper. Pro Rege, 46(1): 12 - 25.
Wagenman, M. 2017. The Power of the Church: The Ecclesiology of Abraham Kuyper. Independently Published. 

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (2 of 8) - starting points

Concept map of Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy: Starting points 

Concept maps of Basden on Dooyeweerd (1 of 8)

In a previous post, I put up some 'concept' maps of Danie Strauss' Introduction to Dooyeweerd. In the next few days, I'll post concept maps of Andrew Basden's description of Dooyeweerd's philosophy.

The maps are taken from Chapter 3 of Basden's excellent book Foundations of Information Systems.

Recent articles from Glenn Friesen

Glenn Friesen has posted two interesting pieces on his blog:

Review of Jonathan Chaplin: Herman Dooyeweerd: Christian Philosopher of State and Civil Society

by

J. Glenn Friesen

©2018

Abstract

Jonathan Chaplin’s analysis of Dooyeweerd’s philosophy is helpful in discussing (1) the state’s role in harmonizing and protecting individual and communal interests within various societal spheres and (2) Dooyeweerd’s ideas of public justice and public interest, which he uses to justify state intervention in other societal organizations. But Chaplin continues a conservative reading of Dooyeweerd. This is due to (a) his misunderstanding of the ideas of individuality structures and enkapsis (b) his misunderstanding of enkaptic relations among institutions, natural communities, organized communities and free associations, (c) a consequent incorrect distinction between internal and external functions of the state and (d) an inadequate discussion of the idea of human rights. Dooyeweerd’s use of enkapsis allows him to develop a view of societal sphere sovereignty very different from that of Abraham Kuyper, and one that allows the intervention of the state in other societal organizations because there is a one-way enkaptic relationship

And:

The Complicity of Reformational Philosophy with the Politics of the Religious Right

by Glenn Friesen

©2018

Abstract

Many writers claim to follow reformational principles, but have used these principles in very regressive and reactionary ways to support and to promote the political ideas of the religious right. They have used ideas of religious presuppositionalism, worldview and religious antithesis to argue that those who do not share their own worldview do not know the true facts. They have misused the idea of sphere sovereignty to argue for the minimal state. And they have rejected the idea of human rights and have discriminated against others. This complicity with right wing politics has become clearly evident in their support for the policies of President Trump.

Also, Glenn's piece I've mentioned before is now online: New Research on Groen van Prinsterer and the Idea of Sphere Sovereignty Philosophia Reformata

Concept map of Dooyeweerd's philosophy - based on Danie Strauss' outline

Danie Straus has written an excellent introduction to Herman Dooyeweerd's Philosophy (2015):

It is available as a pdf here.

I have attempted to summarise it in one concept map (the term is Novak's). Here it is (clicking on the image will enlarge it):

Here's the text outline of the map:

Dooyeweerd's philosophy by DFM Strauss

1. Herman Dooyeweerd
   1. Dogma of the autonomy of theoretical thought
      1. Human reason
         1. Autonomous
         2. No prior theoretical assumptions
         3. Self-sufficient
   2. Early works
      1. 1920s Struggle for Christian Politics
      2. 1926 Inaugural lecture
         1. Free University
      3. 1931 Crisis in humanistic political theory
      4. 1935-36 NCTT
         1. Science of law
      5. 1917 PhD
   3. Philosophical trends
      1. Orderliness of creation
         1. A theoretical view of reality
            1. Can't be avoided
   4. Alternative approach
      1. Theoretical thought
         1. Theoretical view of reality
            1. Ground motive
               1. Christian scholarship
                  1. Christian life and worldview
   5. Transcendental critique
      1. Theoretical thought can't have it's starting point within itself
         1. Then other aspects will be the sole mode of explanation
         2. Must transcend the diversity of all aspects
            1. Needs supra-temporal point of departure
   6. Ground-motives
      1. Communal driving forces
      2. Form-matter
      3. Creation, fall, redemption
      4. Nature-freedom
      5. Nature-grace
2. Ultimate commitments
   1. Religion
      1. 1. Giving direction to all - life-encompassing
      2. 2. Faith
3. Basic contours
   1. Creation
      1. Subject to God-given laws
   2. Creator
   3. Theory of Modal law-sphere
      1. Everyday experience
      2. The 'how' question
      3. Subject-object
         1. All function in all aspects
            1. Humans function actively in all aspects
            2. Plants object functions in post-biotic aspects
            3. Animals object functions in post-sensitive aspects
      4. Multi-aspect of humans
      5. Law side
      6. Factual side
         1. Presuppose
            1. Uniqueness
               1. Sphere-sovereignty
            2. Coherence
               1. Sphere universality
               2. Retrocipations 
               3. Anticipations
                  1. Opened up through process of meaning disclosure
      7. Faith Ethical Jural Aesthetic Economic Cultural-historic Logical-analytical Sensory Biotic Physical Kinematic Spatial Arithmetical 
         1. Meaning-nucleus
            1. Irreducibility
            2. Indefinability
               1. Primitive terms
            3. Uniqueness
4. Dimension of ontic time
   1. Time
      1. Embraces all aspects & entities
      2. Law side
         1. Time duration
      3. Factual side
         1. Time order
5. Dimension of (natural & societal) entities
   1. Entities & events 
      1. Function in all modal aspects
   2. State
      1. Citizens
         1. Quantitative
         2. Alive
            1. Biotic 
      2. Territory
         1. Spatial
      3. Freedom of movement
         1. Kinematic
      4. Power of the sword
         1. Force
      5. Law enforcement
         1. Jural
      6. Tax paying
      7. Sense of belonging- feeling at home
         1. Sensory-psychic
      8. National identity
         1. Logical-analytic
      9. Political parties
         1. Credo
   3. Societies
      1. Differentiated
         1. Qualifying/ guiding functions
      2. Undifferentiated
         1. Extended family
         2. Sib/ clan
6. Legacy of reformational philosophy
1. Foundation for Reformational philosophy
   1. 5 yearly conferences
2. Scholars
   1. Physics
      1. Stafleu
   2. Maths
      1. Strauss
   3. Biology
      1. Diemer
      2. Duyvene De Wit
   4. Linguistics
      1. Weideman
   5. Economic
      1. Goudzwaard
   6. Law
      1. Hommes
   7. Politics
      1. Koyzis
      2. Chaplin
   8. Theology
      1. Ouweneel
      2. Troost
3. Universities
   1. Special chairs in the Netherlands
4. Dooyeweerd's collected works
1. Published
2. Translated

Here are the sections from the complete map:

Concept mapping

Concept mapping was developed by Joseph Novak. In this biographical video clip he discusses some uses of concept maps:




And here's a concept map of a concept map:

David Ceri Jones (2015) Ch 6: conclusion

David Ceri Jones (2015) Ch 5: 'As the waters cover the sea'

David Ceri Jones (2015) Ch 4: 'All the world is growing religious'

David Ceri Jones (2105) Ch 3: A Glorious Morn

Hugh Williams' painting Y Sasiwn Gyntaf - the first Joint Association of English and Welsh Calvinistic Methodism, Watford, nr Caerphilly (1943):

David Ceri Jones (2015) Ch 2: The wonderful works of God

Here are the maps from David Ceri Jones The Divine Fire Chapter 2: The wonderful works of God:

David Ceri Jones (2015) Chapter 1

The map for chapter 1 got rather large - so I've had to chop it up into section (click on the maps to enlarge)

David Ceri Jones (2015) Prologue

I've recently been rereading David Ceri Jones' book on the Evangelical Revival, The Fire Divine (IVP, 2015). As I've done so, I've drawn out a few concept maps - over the next few days I'll post them.

Here's the first one from the prologue:

Review of Bruce Ashford's Letters to an American Christian

Letters to an American Christian

Bruce Riley Ashford

ISBN 978-1535905138

Pbk, 256 pp, £12.85

Publisher’s web page: http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/products/letters-to-an-american-christian

In Letters to an American Christian, Ashford, professor of Professor of Theology and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has done the Christian world a great service. He has, in a clear accessible way, provided an excellent introduction to many contemporary political and ethical issues from a broadly kuyperian perspective. I say broadly because not all kuyperians (me included) would agree with all of his positions (and I’m not sure Kuyper would either).

The letter format, which Ashford adopts, is a well recognised literary trope from Diego de San Pedro’s Prison of Love in 1845 to C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape and more recently, Jamie Smith’s Letters to a Young Calvinist. Ashford has utilised this approach to great effect. Ashford’s letters are written to Christian, a (fictional) new Christian studying political science and journalism at the (left-leaning) university of DuPont. He is also an intern at a conservative news outlet. 

The book has three parts thee parts. The first deals with ‘A Christian view of politics and public life’. The second with ‘A Christian view of hot-button issues’, this includes letters on religious liberty, free speech, racism, gun regulation and transgender. The final section, part three, deals with ‘A Christian hope for American politics’.

The first part is an excellent introduction to a Christian view of politics and culture. I have mapped this part: http://stevebishop.blogspot.com/2018/05/letters-to-american-christain-bh.html. 

Here Ashford poses and answers some important questions. Questions such as such religion and politics mix? Is politics good? Does the gospel affect political policies? Does Christianity have anything to do with culture? Does the church have a role to play in politics?  He answers all in the affirmative. He draws upon Kuyper’s sphere sovereignty and Kuyper’s distinction between the church as organism (scattered) and organisation (gathered). This section concludes with a discussion and critique of the ideologies of liberalism, conservatism, nationalism and socialism.

In Part 2 he looks at several important hot-potato issues. These include free speech, political correctness, abortion, racism, small and big government, gun legislation, homosexuality, transgender, immigration, global warming, war and fake news - the contents itemised below show the range of topics covered. Inevitably, in such a short space justice can’t be done to all these issues, nevertheless, Ashford makes as an excellent attempt at mapping the options and alternative approaches. I wouldn’t agree with all his points, particular his approach to gun legislation and to his slight reservation about global warming, for example. 

Ashford is sensitive to both the scriptures and to culture - his approach is well grounded. There is, for example, no trite biblicism, such as cities had walls in the Bible, so we should build a wall across the Mexican border. Ashford’s approach is far more nuanced. For those who want to know what a Christian approach to many contemporary issues, this book will be a great place to begin.

CONTENTS

Part 1: A Christian View of Politics and Public Life

Chapter 1: No Public Nudity, Please 

What is the relationship between religion and politics? 

Chapter 2: The Good of Politics 

Is politics a necessary evil or a positive good? 

Chapter 3: Jesus Is Lord and Congress Is Not 

What does the gospel have to do with politics? 

Chapter 4: Christianity Is Not Our Side Hustle 

What does Christianity have to do with culture? 

Chapter 5: The One Political Rally American Christians Shouldn’t Skip 

Where can I go to learn to be a good citizen? 

Chapter 6: Swim in Your Own Lane, Please

What is the best way to think of the relationship between church and state? 

Chapter 7: Let God Be True and Every Ideology a Liar 

To which political ideology should I subscribe? 

Part 2: A Christian View on Hot-Button Issues

Chapter 8: If You Can Keep It 

What is so important about religious liberty? 

Chapter 9: There Are No Safe Spaces in the Real World

Why should I value free speech? 

Chapter 10: Unborn Lives Matter 

Why shouldn’t a woman have the right to choose? 

Chapter 11: Black Lives Matter

What should I think of the Black Lives Matter movement? 

Chapter 12: Nobody Throws a Tantrum like a Politically Correct American

What’s so wrong with political correctness? 

Chapter 13: Beware the Giant Octopus 

Which is better: “small government” or “big government”? 

Chapter 14: No Need for Mullahs at 1 First Street

What is all the ruckus about Supreme Court interpretation? 

Chapter 15: Hitting the Bull’s-Eye on Gun Legislation 

How do I navigate the debate about restrictions on gun ownership? 

Chapter 16: The Best Education for a Twenty-First-Century American 

What’s so “great” about the great books? 

Chapter 17: One Man and One Woman 

How should I respond to Obergefell? 

Chapter 18: To Shave a Yak 

Should I be concerned about the environment? 

Chapter 19: What Hath Justice to Do with Mercy?

Why are Christians so divided about immigration reform? 

Chapter 20: I Pledge Allegiance

What should I think about the surge of “nationalism” in the United States? 

Chapter 21: Pray for Peace, Prepare for War 

What does it mean to engage in a “just war”? 

Chapter 22: Restoring the Self 

What is a Christian view of gender dysphoria and the transgender movement? 

Chapter 23: Fake News and Alternative Facts

How can I orient myself in a posttruth political environment? 

Part 3: A Christian Hope for American Politics

Chapter 24: If You Can Keep It (Reprise) 

If “Christian” is my primary identity, does “American” even matter? 

Chapter 25: Recovering the Lost Art of Christian Persuasion 

How should we relate to people who believe differently from us? 

Chapter 26: Public Witness from the Political Margins

How should we respond to the marginalization of historic Christianity?